'There’s definitely something that’s not right or normal about the politics in Oldham' - Arooj Shah on why she's back as council leader
amid a backdrop of conspiracy theories and misinformation.
At the next election she lost her seat in Chadderton South to the Conservatives, attributing her loss to an election campaign determined to ‘dehumanise’ her. “I can’t wait to go home this evening”, she said after the result was announced. With the leadership position now vacant – Amanda Chadderton having become the latest Labour councillor to pay the price for leading the borough at the polls – she put herself forward again, and won in a two-horse internal race against Failsworth member Peter Davis.It’s a question Ms Shah’s family has even asked, having seen her sobbing following her election defeat.
“Women get this far more than men do. I don’t expect or anticipate that that will lessen. I didn’t engage with it before but I feel far more resilient and stronger so that if I feel it’s unacceptable I will call it out.” Labour instead saw their majority cut by three down to 32, with the Conservatives and independents making gains and in-roads into former stronghold wards. Now the formerly firmly red council teeters on the verge of no-overall-control.
“People see a loss of services and that saddens them in such a way that they don’t know who to point the blame to, so it becomes pitting neighbours against neighbours. “There is a cost of living crisis, there are some people that are really struggling. There were houses I knocked on in St Mary’s ward during this last year and I was heartbroken when I left those houses.
“The town square is going to look incredible. I can’t wait for people to see it and have pride in their town centre again.” “And then also we’re doing an immense amount of work with Keeping Our Girls Safe and I would encourage any victim or somebody out there who has been through something as horrific as that to reach out and get the support that they need.
But she adds: “In politics, with everything that I’ve been through, that must have been the most horrific and the most personal and difficult thing ever which didn’t only have an impact on me but had an impact on my family too.
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